​
Docker Configuration

GAIA uses Docker Compose to orchestrate multiple services for development. Our setup includes the backend API, databases, message queues, and worker processes.

​
Quick Start

Start all services: 
docker compose up
Start only backend services: 
docker compose --profile backend-only up

​
Service Architecture

​
Core Services

gaia-backend - Main FastAPI application
  • Port: 8000:80
  • Auto-reload enabled for development
  • Depends on all database services
postgres - Primary database
  • Port: 5432:5432
  • Credentials: postgres/postgres
redis - Caching and task queue
  • Port: 6379:6379
chromadb - Vector database for embeddings
  • Port: 8080:8000
mongo - Document storage
  • Port: 27017:27017

​
Worker Services

worker - Email and scheduled tasks
  • Uses RabbitMQ for message queuing
  • Environment: WORKER_TYPE=mail_worker
arq_worker - Background job processing
  • Uses Redis for task queue
  • Environment: WORKER_TYPE=arq_worker
rabbitmq - Message broker
  • AMQP Port: 5672:5672
  • Management UI: 15672:15672

​
Development Tools

mongo_express - MongoDB web interface
  • Port: 8081:8081
  • Credentials: admin/password

​
Profiles

Docker Compose profiles let you run specific service groups:

​
Default Profile (Empty)

Runs all services including frontend, backend, databases, workers, and development tools: 
docker compose up

​
Backend Only

Runs backend services, databases, workers, and development tools - excludes the frontend: 
docker compose --profile backend-only up
The backend-only profile is recommended for development when you want to run the frontend manually with pnpm dev for faster hot reloading.

​
Health Checks

All services include health checks for reliable startup:
  • Backend: HTTP health endpoint
  • Databases: Connection tests
  • Workers: Service status checks

​
Data Persistence

Persistent volumes maintain data across container restarts:
  • chroma_data - Vector embeddings
  • pgdata - PostgreSQL data
  • redis_data - Redis cache
  • mongo_data - MongoDB documents
  • rabbitmq_data - Message queue data

​
Common Commands

View logs: 
docker compose logs -f [service-name]
Rebuild services: 
docker compose build
Clean restart: 
docker compose down -v
docker compose up
Stop all services: 
docker compose down